A Twist of Fate
by FabulousJojo
Summary: (Drarry fanfic) When Draco challenges Harry to a duel, the results turn out to be quite... monstrous. In the circumstances they put themselves in, two enemies must work together in order to right themselves. Through their struggles, Harry and Draco find themselves enjoying each others company, to the point of- love? Or perhaps a simple friendship, but who can say what will happen.
1. The Duel

Harry sleepily ate his breakfast, while everyone around him chattered excitedly. He had spent all night finishing up his homework, the DA had a longer meeting than planned the other night, and he was paying for it now.

"You all right, mate?" Ron inhaled a piece of toast beside him, gazing at him with blue eyes.

"Yeah, just had a late night." Harry yawned.

"Ah, at least we finally got the Bat-Bogey Hex simmered down enough so Umbridge wouldn't suspect us." Harry nodded, yawning again. He continued to munch down the rest of his cereal, thinking about what the rest of the day might look like. Hermione marched up to them at the table just then, book in hand.

"Where have you been?" Ron asked. Hermoine raised an eyebrow.

"Studying, like we're supposed to. What about you?"

"I just wanted some bloody sleep."

"At least you got some, it doesn't seem you did, Harry." Harry nodded, nibbling at his cereal.

"Potter!" A familiar, grueling voice demanded. Malfoy appeared, a look of smug determination spread across his face.

"What is it, Malfoy? I'm not entirely in the mood..." Harry peered into Draco's cold, grey eyes.

"I want a duel, just me and you, out back near the Quidditch field." He challenged. Harry sighed.

"Really? It will only end up like last time, I don't see the point."

"Then this will be the last. Just meet me there at lunch, Potter." He stormed off towards the Slytherin table, sitting next to Crabbe and Goyle. Harry let out a breath, shaking his head.

"Isn't this the third time he's tried this?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at Harry, who nodded glumly.

"We tied last time so this will have to be the final one." Hermione gave him a questioning look.

"Okay, okay, I promise this will be the last time we duel. He just can't sand getting beaten is all."

"It'll have to be, with your luck Umbridge will only have more reason to expel you. Be careful, Harry. Or better yet, don't go at all."

"Don't go?!" Ron said, flustered. "He won't hear the end of it from Malfoy if he doesn't!"

"Ronald, it's for the best." Ron and Hermione looked to Harry, who's mouth was conveniently full of cereal. He swallowed, both the cereal and lump in his throat.

"I'm going, Hermione." He said curtly, but added. "Sorry." A smug look spread on Ron's face.

"Told you."

"Don't blame me if you get in harms way then." Hermione sighed.

* * *

The hours passed, and Harry went through his classes as normal. The only difference was he felt a huge weight upon his back all morning. Perhaps he shouldn't duel Malfoy, it was too risky. On the other hand, there was only so much of him he could stand. Missing it would only fuel more nasty comments and jokes his way.  
"Mr. Potter." A sickly sweet voice grabbed his attention. Harry looked into the face of the toad-like woman, Dolores Umbrodge.

"Yes?" He answered as politely as he could.

"Were you paying the slightest bit of attention to my lesson?" She batted her eyelashes at him.

"Er- no, sorry. I zoned out."

"Hm." Umbridge's eyes lingered on him for a second too long. "That will be a lunch detention, for, let's say, tomorrow." Harry gritted his teeth. Oh, how he despised that woman. Not even hell itself could be worse than spending time with this wench. He kept these thoughts to himself, however, it was best not to get in any more trouble. Harry's mind returned to his doubt and concerns for the duel.

* * *

At last, his class was over. It was also lunch, and Harry knew exactly what that meant. He made his way to behind the Quidditch field. Gazing around, it was apparent that Malfoy was nowhere to be seen. Had he chickened out after all?

"Good to see you, Potter." Well, it was a false hope to begin with.

"As with you." Harry replied with the same amount of sarcasm, maybe a bit more.

"Ready? This is our last duel, prepare to lose!" Malfoy took a pose, waiting for action.

"Don't get overconfident." Harry readied himself.

"Stupefy!"

"Expelliarmus!"

A stream of red light erupted from Malfoy's wand, at the same time a blue light from Harry's. The two boys struggled against each others power, neither willing to give up. Malfoy's spell started to get closer and closer to Harry. He pushed back, picturing Umbridge getting fired, or better, banished from the wizarding world. An odd sort of grin splattered on Harry's face. He felt the joy of a dove, the smell of victory near. But, something felt off. Something very, very off. Before either Malfoy or Harry could comprehend what was happening, a yellow light burst from where the two spells intersected, and hit each boy directly in the face. Harry staggered back, his disarming spell disappearing. Luckily, Malfoy suffered the same consequence, and fell to the ground with a thud. He felt woozy, and dizzy as he approached Malfoy. Harry could tell, even with the world rapidly swirling before him, that Malfoy was out cold. He made out footsteps pitter pattering near him.

"What the devil is going on here?!" It was none other than Professor Snape. Great, that was exactly what he needed. The teacher he hated the most, not counting Umbridge. Harry took a couple steps forward, and backwards, until losing his footing, and collapsed forwards. His vision went black before he hit the ground.

(Authors note: if any of you out there got the reference to what Snape said, I love you. :D )


	2. Stuck Together Like Glue

Harry's eyes blinked open, and he found himself staring at a rather bright ceiling. White curtains were draped around him, and he was laying in a bed that was unlike his own, which also held the decor of snow. Though the room was unfamiliar, Harry recognized it as the hospital wing. He'd been here enough times to set a school record, he bet. As soon as Harry tried to sit up, he felt an immense pressure on his chest, followed by a groggy voice.

"Wha-?! Stop that! That hurts! Just who- Potter?!" Out of all the voices that could have lingered in his head, Malfoy spoke as if he were right beside him.

"What are you doing?" He asked in a menacing tone.

"I should ask you the same thing! Where are you?"

"I'm right here, you idiot, on the bed!" Harry gazed down at his hands. They seemed perfectly normal. Before he could give this anymore thought, the curtains surrounding him were pulled back, Madam Pomfrey scanning his bed.

"Are you all right, dear?" She asked nicely.

"Fine. Just a little dizzy." Harry gulped.

"Well I'd imagine so, that was quite the blow you took. Thought you would've been out longer but here you are, lively as the morning sun!" Madam Pomfrey smiled, and fiddled with a few bottles of liquid, and handed Harry an ocean blue one.

"Take this, and I'll let you go. Can't say the same for Malfoy over there, he'll wake shortly." Harry took the vial, an drank from it quickly, draining the bottle.

"Thanks." He managed a small smile. On his way out, Harry took a look at the only other occupied bed in the hospital wing. Malfoy lay there, stiff as stone, appearing to be in a deep sleep.

"The hell am I doing over there? Take me to- er- myself, at once, Potter!" Malfoy's voice ordered Harry inside his head. Rolling his eyes, Harry set down for the corridor instead, and headed or Gryffindor tower. How was he going to deal with a constantly yammering Malfoy in his face? Surely, this was just a small side effect of the duel. It would be gone by tomorrow, and Harry would have a good nights sleep, end of story. Yes, he just had to put up with this temporarily.

"I heard that, Potter. I have feelings too, you know. It's not like I enjoy this any more than you do." He scoffed.

"I didn't say anything!" Harry spoke aloud. A small girl stared at him with wide eyes from the other side of the corridor. When she caught his eye, the quite flustered girl scooted away hurriedly.

"Better not speak, people will think itty baby Potter is loony~" Malfoy's constant teasing was already putting Harry on edge, he got closer and closer to boiling over every second.

* * *

When he finally reached Gryfindor Tower, Harry felt a sense of relief wash over him.

"Password?" The Fat Lady asked in her usual tone, staring at Harry from behind her painting.

"Er- Heels over Hippogriff?" Harry scratched his brain. The Fat Lady nodded, and swung forward to reveal the bronze, reddish room. Decorated in Gryffindor's colours, the common room brought with it a home feel. Upon his entry, a voice came from across the room: 'Harry!'

Hermione enveloped him in a hug, much to Malfoy's detest.

"Ugh! Get this filthy mudblood off of yourself! You disgust me sometimes..." Harry chuckled, returning the hug.

"I wasn't gone that long, was I?" He smiled at her.

"Well, no, but you have us quite the scare, Ron especially."

"What?! No, I knew you'd make it out alive!" Ron protested. Hermione rolled her eyes and Harry thought he caught her whisper 'liar' under her breath. Following Hermione to the armchairs, and taking a seat in comfort, he dared to ask a question.

"So what happened?"

"Snape brought you and Malfoy to the hospital wing, dummy. What else do you think happened?" Ron raised an eyebrow.

"Did you hear if Dumbledore came to see me?" Hermione shook her head.

"Sorry Harry, no one was allowed to visit until you woke up, Madam Pomfrey's orders."

Harry nodded in disappointment. Malfoy, who had been rather quiet in his head, spoke to him again.

"What do you got going on with Dumbledore? Care to share? I'm all ears." Harry could almost feel Malfoy slump over in his seat.

"Uh," He started, then realized Ron an Hermione were right beside him. "I need some sleep, see you later." Harry stood up, and walked towards his dorm. They let him go, good thing too, Harry didn't know what to say if they found out about his little... Problem. He sat on his bed and sighed.

"Look, you need to be quiet when I'm with other people, okay? It's not helping having a stupid little voice whining in my ear all the time, so just cut it out!"

"Why should I, Potter?" Malfoy challenged.

"Because we'll both be in just as much trouble I you rat us out, how would you explain THIS?!" He went silent, and Harry knew he had triumphed.

"Fine. But I need to talk sometime so, go to the Room of Requirement alone and I'll have to talk with you I guess." Malfoy huffed a sigh. Still questioning his motives, Harry didn't have much other choice but to agree.

"Deal."


	3. Classroom Shenanigans

"All right now, class, today we will be reviewing the Accio spell. I will be observing how well you all perform today, there will be a test soon." Professor Flitwick gave a wave of his hand, and several voices cried out the same incantation. Harry sighed, and looked at the pink cushion before him.

"Accio." He said simply, waving his wand. The cushion remained still. Harry furrowed his brow. Normally, he would be able to do this with ease, in his sleep! Perhaps he got off on a faulty start.

"Accio." Harry repeated, a little more firmly. The little cushion still refused to budge an inch.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Hermione asked, catching her cushion in the palm of her hand. "Isn't this just a review?"

"Yeah!" He snapped. "Yeah, I guess I'm just a little off. Sorry." Harry apologised.

"You've been on edge ever since that last duel with Malfoy." She gazed at Harry worriedly.

"I just got knocked on the head a little hard, Hermione. It will probably wear off by the time the days over."

"If you still don't feel well check with Madam Pomfrey, okay?"

"I'll be fine." Harry reassured her. Hermione smiled, and moved onto her next cushion.

"Potter." Malfoy grabbed his attention next. Harry remained silent, there was no way he was just going to talk to himself out loud in class.

"Let me try." Harry shrugged, as if to agree, and said the incantation again, only Malfoy spoke in unison with him.

"Accio!"

The little cushion flew straight towards Harry, hitting him squarely in the face.

"Dwa-!" He exclaimed.

"Hey, you got it!" Hermione cheered.

"Yeah, I did." Harry held the cushion in bewilderment.

* * *

"All right, how did you know that would work?" Harry demanded later in the Room of Requirement. The room had taken the simple form of a small place, roomy enough to hold a red armchair in the center. It was the same chair in which Harry sat in now, prying answers from Malfoy.

"No idea. I just wanted to try something, and it worked, didn't it?" He boasted.

"We- That's true, but what made you think that the both of us had to say the incantation in the first place?"

"I told you Potter, I don't know."

"Like hell you don't."

"Can't you just accept that I'm telling the truth?!"

"And you've always been so kind to me previously." Harry countered sarcastically.

"I- But- UGH!" Malfoy went silent for a minute. "I just wanted to help." He mumbled softly. Harry felt a lump in his throat, maybe he'd been a little harsh. Wait, this was _Malfoy_ he was talking about! Only his biggest rival/enemy since he started going to Hogwarts! And now he was talking about _helping_ him?!

"Well..." Harry struggled for the words. "Thanks. Just don't try anything stupid next time." He felt he at least should thank the guy- no matter how sick it made Harry to his stomach. He felt something inside his chest, what was it? A mixture of gratitude and happiness?

"I'll try." Malfoy breathed. "Oh, and Potter?"

"What?"

"Could we go visit the real me sometime? It might help, you know, send me back 'home', figuratively."

Harry felt surprised at the question, but agreed nevertheless.

"Sure."

* * *

Harry made it back to the common room without raising any eyebrows and somehow was able to avoid any questions from Ron and Hermione. He decided to get started on the Potions homework he had. Writing an essay on the effects and how to brew a Befuddlement Draught proved to be a little easier than expected, with Malfoy whispering small tidbits of info in his ear.

"Normally the taker gets reckless, kind of like you."

Well, almost all of it was nice anyway.

"Sneezewort is one of the main ingredients, not wolfsbang."

It felt like Malfoy was right there in the common room, breathing down his neck with Potion smarts.

"How did you know this much on Potions?" Harry whispered.

"It's my best class, Snape favours me too so that might have something to do with it."

_That figures._ Harry thought. _I should've guessed that much. _

About half on hour later Harry set down his quill and now completed essay. Stretching, he yawned and got ready to hit the hay for the night. As he pulled a

pajama shirt over his head, a voice came from the doorway.

"So you are here." It was Ron.

"Where else would I be?" Harry replied without thinking.

"That's a good question. Where were you earlier, mate?" Ron strolled over to his bed beside Harry's, and sat on it.

"Er- I just went into the Room of Requirement, that's all. No one saw me." He added, seeing the look on Ron's face.

"The RoR? For what?"

"Practice. I wasn't doing too well earlier in Charms."

"Wasn't that a review cla-"

"Yes. Yes it was, Ron. Guess I just needed a little more time to get my head in the game."

"Oh." Ron surveyed Harry for a second longer, shook his head, and got ready for bed himself.

"Whatever you say, mate. Here's hoping tomorrows a new day." He mumbled. Harry breathed a sigh of relief, he wasn't quite sure how to tell Ron that Malfoy was speaking into his head yet, and didn't even know how to approach the subject.

* * *

"Where are you going _now_?" Ron pestered, as Harry got up to leave from the Great Hall the next morning.

"I'm just going to the hospital wing for a checkup. Be back before you know it." Harry stuffed a mouthful of toast into his mouth, setting down one of the many hallways of Hogwarts. He heard Ron sigh, very audibly, and Hermione telling him something about his well-being, which Ron protested by saying Harry was fine. Smiling, Harry turned to the corridor going to the hospital wing. He creaked open the door, and slipped inside.

"Potter? What are you doing here?" Madam Pomfrey questioned from a glass shelf containing various Potions and medicine.

"I, er, just came to visit."

"Visit who?"

"Malfoy."

He saw her eyes widen slightly, and she spoke in a lighter tone than before.

"Oh. Well, he's right at the end." Madam Pomfrey pointed to a bed concealed by curtains.

"Thanks." He strutted by the nurse, who stared at him shocked, as if she were trying to figure out a complex calculation in her head. Harry slipped in

through the curtains, and slightly hid behind them. Thankfully there were no other visitors in the wing, so Harry was in the clear to converse with Malfoy quietly.

"Now what?" He asked, gazing at the unconscious blonde boy before him.

"Er- I don't know. Maybe you have to touch me. Like, grab my hand or something."

"That's a little creepy, do I have to?"

"Do you ever want me to leave?" He had a fair point, Harry presumed, and reluctantly held Malfoy's hand. He hoped Madam Pomfrey was deep into her

medicine organizing work. This would be extremely hard to explain.

"Feel anything?" He whispered, starting to hate the seconds that passed by.

"I can feel your hand. You should lotion more, Potter."

Harry chuckled softly.

"Well you should wear hand warmers, yours are _freezing_." He felt heat rise into his cheeks.

"Not much I can do about it."

"So you don't have any sort of urge to leave my body? No light at the end of the tunnel, no pulling in your chest?"

"Nope. But jeez, do I need a shower."

Smiling, Harry gingerly let go of Malfoy's hand, letting it fall onto his chest. He felt Malfoy tense up in his head- or was that just an illusion? How could he feel...

Harry pushed the thought out of his mind.

"I'm cold again." Malfoy whined.

"What can I do about it?"

"Just stay, for a little longer, please? My hand is cold..."

"Wha- But, Malfoy," He protested, then sighed, taking his hand again. "Fine, but you owe me BIG time after this."

"I know. Thanks, Potter."

Harry wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, just sitting in silence, but soon it was time for classes to start, and Harry couldn't afford to be late,

especially with Umbridge. Madam Pomfrey gave him a wary look, but still smiled and said goodbye when he left. Half jogging, he was able to blend with the

crowd and get to Defense Against the Dark Arts a minute early, even. When he sat at his normal desk, and opened his textbook, he locked eyes with

Umbridge, who squinted at him. With her toad-like features, though, it made her look funny, and Harry stared at the page of his book to avoid laughing. Soon

the rest of the class arrived, as well as an utterly surprised Ron and Hermione, whom were still scratching their heads at how he got there so early. On the

bright side, he didn't feel as bad as he did the day before about having Malfoy occupying his brain 24/7. Perhaps he could deal with it until he left.


	4. Dumbledore's Army

Harry lingered outside the Room of Requirement. Today was another meeting for the DA, but he wasn't quite as confident as he was last time. Taking a

deep breath, he slipped inside and was instantly welcomed by a few other members who had come in early.

"Hey, Harry!" Colin Creevy bounced up to him energetically.

"Hullo." He replied with a smile.

"What are we gonna learn ab0ut today? A new hex? Or, or, even something completely mind-blowing!" Colin had started theorizing what they were going

to do, but Harry just shook his head at all the options.

"You'll just have to wait and see. It's a surprise." Harry teased.

"How come? That's no fair..." Colin pouted.

Harry chuckled. "It's completely fair, and don't worry, nobody else knows what we're doing today either."

Colin's shrugged in agreement, and trotted off to his brother, Dennis.

"Hello Harry." A softer voice greeted him, revealing itself to be Cho Chang. Harry's heart hammered in his chest, threatening to burst out.

"Hi Cho." He felt stupid, that hadn't sounded right. What if she just crinkled her nose at him, and ran away in disgust?

"I'm excited for tonight." She said. "I heard about what happened, and wasn't sure if you'd be well enough to teach us today, so..." Her words trailed off.

"Oh, no, I'm fine. I was just knocked out for an hour or two. It wasn't fatal or anything."

"Yeah." A chunk of dark hair fell on her face, concealing one of her eyes. She tucked it behind her ear and continued. "Well, I'll look forward to your lesson

then." She waved, and walked away.

* * *

Once everyone else had arrived, Harry took his usual stance in front of the crowd, and cleared his throat.

"So, today we're going to try out the exploding spell, Confringo. The spell explodes whatever it comes into contact with, so today a bunch of dummies are

set up to withstand these hits. So, er, have fun, and don't blow anyone up." A round of soft laughter from the crowd, then people stated to form lines, and

tried out the spell.

"Confringo!" Seamus cried out, setting a dummy aflame.

"Good one!" Harry observed.

"Thanks, I have a talent with blowing things up." Seamus grinned, heading to the back of the line, as the dummy quickly rebuilt itself. The class went

smoothly, and not a single peep from Malfoy started to bother Harry.

"Malfoy? You still there?" He whispered, barely audible.

"Don't have anywhere else I could go. So this is what you lot were doing..."

"If you dare let a word of this reach Umbridge I will make sure you wish you stayed in my head forever." Harry threatened.

"Okay, okay, I'll keep it a secret."

"That's rich, coming from you."

"As of now, my lips are sealed."

"They better be." Harry whispered a final time, and went back to seeing how everyone was doing with the spell. It seemed they all were getting the hand

of it well enough. Perhaps he should try it out for himself, Harry pondered the thought.

"Excuse me, could I have a go?" Harry asked Hannah Abbott.

"Go for it."

And with that, Harry faced the dummy and shouted.

"Confringo!" The dummy exploded, and quickly rebuilt itself almost instantly.

"Nice one." Hannah complimented.

"Heh. Thanks."

* * *

The DA meeting had gone rather swimmingly, Harry figured, thinking about the class. Everyone was able to make their dummy explode, and all seemed to

enjoy themselves while doing it, especially Seamus. Even more gleeful was the fact that Harry was getting better at spell casting with Malfoy, they were more

in sync every time. When he told Ron and Hermione that they were in the clear to head back to the common room, Ron gave him a quick pat on the back.

"Good one, mate." Then he disappeared out the door, and out of sight. Leaving Harry alone with Malfoy- again. He checked the Marauder's map, watching

Ron and Hermione's dots reach Gryffindor Tower. They made it successfully, Harry smiled. Another meeting done without any complications. He was about to

head out himself, but Malfoy interrupted.

"So you teach them?" He sounded almost like Luna, completely in wonderment.

"Yes and no. We practice the spells that are most likely going to come up on the O.W.L's and I just kind of... lead them." Harry stared awkwardly.

"In other words, you teach."

"Somewhat."

"Everyone seems to like you."

"We've been doing this for a while." Harry scratched the back of his head.

"Especially that Cho girl. Isn't she a Ravenclaw?"

"Yes. Why does that matter?" Harry's voice turned stiff with anger.

"It, er, doesn't. I just thought I'd mention it. You're good at teaching." He finished weirdly. Harry hesitated before answering.

"Thanks." There was a long period of silence, in which Harry was just about to head back to the common room when Malfoy interrupted, again.

"Are you going to teach here once you finish seventh year?" The question was off-topic, so it took Harry a minute before he was able to come up with an

answer.

"No, actually. I was thinking of being an... well, an Auror." He shifted uncomfortably.

"Really?" Malfoy mused, surprised.

"What are you planning on doing?" Harry asked in return.

"I'm not sure, but I was thinking of something like a Healer."

"That seems unlike you." Harry chuckled. "I didn't know you liked medical things."

"You never really asked, with us being enemies and all."

"True."

Another pause.

"We don't have to be enemies, you know. We could be... er..." Malfoy fumbled for the words.

"Acquaintances?" Harry suggested, causing Malfoy to laugh.

"Something like that, yeah. Maybe even distant friends." He joked.

"But what would the others think if we hung out too often together?" Harry furrowed his brow.

"To hell with what everyone else thinks! We don't have to see each other_ every _day, just occasionally. It could be nice instead of feuding." Malfoy said

firmly. Harry wasn't quite sure what to think. On one hand, perhaps being 'friends' with Malfoy would be better than constantly fighting and dueling. On the

other hand, he was almost certain that Ron and Hermione would give him the eye if they saw him with Malfoy voluntarily.

"I'll think about it, but I like the idea." Harry smiled, checked the map, and slipped into the corridor back to the common room. It could be better, or it could

be worse, being friendly with each other. For now it seemed that a friendly approach was best while he was attached to Malfoy, at least. Maybe things would

be more clear in the future, like a sky after a storm, shining in the sun for once.


	5. Let The Games Begin!

Harry gulped down his cereal while mentally conversing with Malfoy the next morning.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He would ask.

"I'm certain, I can't just make excuses." That's what Harry would always reply with, though the shifting in his head told him Malfoy still wasn't satisfied. He

chose to ignore this today, however, as he had more pressing matters to attend to that day. Finally finishing his breakfast, Harry took in a deep breath. In, and

out.

"Good luck today, mate." Ron gave him a pat on the back, nodding with a smile. He seemed a little shaken, Harry thought.

"I should say the same to you. Don't worry about today, all right?"

"Right." Ron sat beside him, taking a couple pieces of toast for himself, as well as eggs and bacon. "Better keep my strength up then." Harry's lip curled

into a smile.

"That's the Ron I know. I'm going to go get my gear on, see you soon." Harry rose from the table, and walked past the long tables. Several people shot

glances at him, but Harry stared straight ahead. He passed by Hermione, who gave a nod and a smile, like Ron did, though hers was more kind and a little less

shaky. Harry smiled back, and traveled the corridors until he reached the outside doors.

* * *

The crowd cheered, jeered, and shouted wildly. For once in his life, Harry felt ready for this match.

"It's not too late." Malfoy spoke quietly.

"We can do this." Harry said firmly. Grasping his broomstick by the handle, he swung a leg over it and prepared himself. Madam Hooch held the Quaffle in

her hands, counting down until the Quidditch match would start. Harry looked back to Ron, who's determined gaze met his. They could do this, he felt it in his

gut. The whistle sounded, and the players pushed off from the ground. At once, Harry scattered his eyes around for the Golden Snitch. It was just a touch bit

cloudy, the sun hidden well, but not too hidden. Perfect weather for a Quidditch match. He took a quick glance at the person with the Quaffle. Katie Bell flew by,

the Quaffle tucked under her armpit. A Hufflepuff Chaser tried to steal it with a quick swipe, but Katie threw it just in the nick of time to Angelina Johnson, who

continued towards the goal hoops. She threw it to Alicia Spinnet who took a shot-

"_TEN POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR!_" Lee Jordan screamed into the microphone, cheers from the entire crowd. (Except Slytherin of course) Harry let out a

whoop, beaming, and went back to scouting for the Snitch. He flew up higher above the other players, as to get a greater view. The scene before him was

beautiful, almost no clouds to obscure his vision, and the picture of the stadium from a birds eye view was locked in his memory forever. Harry almost had to

force himself to keep his eyes peeled away from the match and the scenery. After a few more minutes of searching, another roar from the crowd and a slightly

less enthusiastic comment from Jordan.

"Ten points to Hufflepuff!" Jordan still had his flair, but his true spirit was with his home team, Harry figured.

* * *

It had been awhile now since the match started, and Harry was beginning to grow worried and started fretting more about what would happen if they

lost. Gryffindor couldn't afford to lose another match, they needed to_ win_. Harry gulped. He soared to the right, looking for something, anything that could be

related to the Golden Snitch. And then he saw it! A small glint of gold, hovering by the Ravenclaw stands. He bolted after it, gaining speed by the second. The

Snitch zoomed away, but Harry still had his eyes locked on it, oblivious to anything else around him. He outstretched his arm, the Snitch getting closer...

"Harry Potter has sighted the Snitch! It looks li- Oh, here comes Summerby for the recoil! Go Harry, GO!" Jordan was more cheering for Gryffindor than

anything, but Harry was too concentrated to notice. He saw a boy, dressed in the Hufflepuff uniform coming towards him, or more likely, the Snitch. Both boys

bumped into each other in their attempts, Harry's fingers were inches from the golden little ball...

_"HARRY BEHIND YOU!" _Malfoy's voice exploded in his head, causing Harry's concentration to break for a split second- a second long enough for him to see

the Bludger heading straight for him. He gasped, and tried to swerve, but his head met with a loud "clunk" and his vision went black.

* * *

Harry woke to a bright room, easily recognizable as the hospital wing. He groaned, rubbing his head, and tried to sit up. His head pounded fiercely,

causing him to grunt out loud, and Madam Pomfrey was at his side in an instant.

"Oh, I'll be right back," She said behind her, and then pulled back the curtains around his bed. "Potter! Glad you've came to, we seem to be seeing each

other a lot lately." She smiled faintly, and Harry half smiled back, still a little dazed. "You ought to stay in bed for the day, nasty concussion... quite the bump

you have..." Madam Pomfrey shook her head, but shined a light in Harry's eyes, examining them.

"Am I going to die?" Harry joked. Madam Pomfrey chuckled.

"Today's not your day, you'll be fine. I'd rather you stay here for the day, but feel free to go back to your dormitory after dinner."

Harry nodded, and Madam Pomfrey went to attend to another patient. He let out a sigh, and noticed a strange absence of annoyance in his head.

"Malfoy?" He whispered, barely audible. No response. His heart pace quickened. Where was he? What happened when that Bludger hit him? Had the little

part of Malfoy in him been diminished completely, or...

"Now, then, I'm sure everyone will be pleased to know you have woken up. I'll keep you here until supper, just to make sure nothing funky happened, all

right? Its... Draco, right?"

"Malfoy, yeah."

The sound of his voice sent a chill down Harry's spine. He was awake? That simple fact gave Harry a sense of relief, but at the same time a feeling of sorrow.

He found it difficult to admit that Malfoy- No, Draco's presence had been uplifting to his spirits. Sure, having your enemy locked in your head for while would

drive anyone mad, but he couldn't help wondering how things would be now. They seemed to get along... slightly. Harry couldn't help listening to the last bit of

their conversation.

"Well, everything seems to be in order. I'll leave you be, but no doing anything reckless."

"Heh, I'll try not to." Harry could hear the sarcasm in Draco's voice, and stifled a laugh. He heard the door close, Madam Pomfrey had gone into her office.

There was a long moment of silence, in which Draco took the liberty of breaking it.

"You're awake too, aren't you?" It was more a statement than a question, but Harry answered all the same.

"Yeah."

Another pause of awkward tension.

"Are you all right? That was quite the hit..."

"I'm fine. Besides, I've had worse."

"True." Malfoy chortled.

"So... why do you think is it you've woken up?" Harry asked.

"Dunno. Maybe you just needed a good hit like that to knock me out of your head. I don't move easily."

They both chuckled, and Harry decided to come out from behind the curtain. The Draco that he looked at now had very dark circles under his silvery eyes, and

his face seemed almost hollow. This was unlike any other time he had seen Draco, usually he was full of confidence, but today, today he seemed... weak. Draco

must have noticed Harry staring, and spoke with a smirk.

"Ain't I pretty, Harry?"

"Not really." He smiled, sitting on the bed opposite to him. "So what happens now?"

"What do you mean? We go back to how it was. Classes, normality, Umbridge..."

"I mean with us."

"Oh. Right." Draco bit his lip, and scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know. I'm not too sure that Weasely and the Mudblood will take too kindly to

having me on their list of friends."

"If you want to get anywhere, stop calling Hermione a "Mudblood"." Just saying the word made Harry cringe slightly. "At the very least call her Granger or

something." Malfoy scowled, but let out an exasperated sigh.

"Fine. Then what if I want to see you? Er- like hang out?" Now it was Harry's turn to think.

"If not in public, then we'll just meet in the RoR like we did before."

"Last time I was in your head, now I need to know when."

"Er... how about this Tuesday at, say, 9 o'clock?"

"Deal. Do you think we ought to tell the people that we're not really enemies anymore?"

"We're not?" Harry felt surprised. He thought that since Draco was his normal self, he would act like his normal self as well. Arrogance and all the other

perks.

"No. Not anymore. That's all right, isn't it Harry?"

"Y-Yeah." Harry grinned. "That's brilliant, Malfoy."

"Hey, you can call me Draco now."

"Oh," Harry cleared his throat. "Have it your way, Draco."

Draco smiled and nodded. Harry wasn't sure why he felt more comfortable around Mal- Draco now, but something about sharing the same head seemed to

have patched up the hole that was barricading them from actually being friends. Perhaps now they had a shot at making something of themselves.

Nevertheless, Harry turned to Draco once more.

"Better?" Draco pondered the thought, bobbing his head to the side for a few seconds, but still replied heartily.

"Better."


	6. Stay With Me

"Oh, _Harry!_" Hermione's bushy hair enveloped him in a tight embrace.

"Her-mio-ne..." Harry choked out, smiling.

"Oh! Sorry, are you all right?" She let go of Harry, her eyes full of worry and happiness. Harry had only just returned to Gryffindor Tower moments ago,

and was already being swarmed by his friends.

"I'm fine. It was only a bump, nothing worse than what I've had before." Harry still found himself smiling as he looked between Ron and Hermione. He felt

closer to them, if anything, though he had no idea why.

"Harry?" Neville spoke from across the room. He smiled, and sighed in relief. "Thank goodness you're alive. Most of us thought you were a goner. Er- not

to be pessimistic or anything."

"Well, Harry always manages to surprise us." Ron grinned.

"I tend to surprise myself more often." Harry joked.

"Good to have you back, mate!" Seamus called from a cozy armchair. It was amazing, Harry thought, that all these people cared about him. He continued

to smile for the rest of the night, even when he changed into pajamas the smile never once left his face.

* * *

The next day classes resumed as normal for Harry, and Umbridge was just as demeaning as ever. She would gaze down at Harry as though he were a

rather rotten patch of tomatoes, and kept an unusually close eye on him the entire class. Harry managed to look up from his book periodically and shifted his

eyes until they laid themselves on Draco, who sat two rows away. His stare lingered, but he forced himself to return to the same paragraph he had been on

since the beginning of class when Umbridge's wary eyes snapped at him.

* * *

For the first time, Harry looked forward to his Potions class. He sat in the back row, as normal, but felt a slight tingle when Draco sat in front of him. Harry

watched as he took out a scrap piece of paper, scribbled something on it, and held it behind his back, motioning for Harry to grab it. He did, and unfolded the

paper, analyzing the words scrawled in Draco's astonishingly neat handwriting:

Are we still good for today at 9?

Harry glanced around to make sure no one was watching before writing down his answer:

Of course. I'll see you in the RoR, okay? Keep out of trouble until then.

He clandestinely slipped the note back into Draco's hand, and watched as he read the note. A trace of a smile was evident on his face, and Draco

pocketed the note. Snape summoned the classrooms attention then, and requested the previous nights homework. Harry gulped, pulling out his essay on the

properties of unicorn hair. He handed it in along with everyone else, but when he turned around Draco stared him right in the face, his grey eyes piercing

Harry's green ones. Harry wasn't sure how long he looked at Draco, though whether everyone else thought it was a burning glare or not was another story.

"Is there a problem boys?" Snape raised an eyebrow.

"Not at all. Right, Potter?" Draco spat out Harry's name like venom, but Harry saw the hurt in his eyes.

"Right." Harry narrowed his eyes at Draco, and returned to his seat. After a minute, Draco did the same. Harry noticed he seemed a little more fidgety than

normal. Or, maybe he had never noticed how fidgety Draco was before. It seemed like eons before class was dismissed, and as Harry gathered his books, he

walked beside Draco on the way out of the classroom. He felt something against his hip, and made eye contact with Draco again. Draco slid something into

Harry's pocket, and shifted his gaze to the floor shortly after, speed walking down the corridor. Harry hung back from Ron and Hermione, saying he had to 'use

the loo' and came to a halt on the other side of the stone wall. Leaning against it, he grasped a piece of paper from within his pocket. Smiling to himself, he

pulled it out and read it.

Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude earlier. See you at 9!

Below he had drawn a small cartoon of himself grinning broadly. The drawing waved happily at Harry, who had to stifle a giggle. He folded the note and

gently put it back in his pocket.

* * *

It was time. Harry took a deep breath and opened the door to the Room of Requirement. Stepping in, he didn't see anything, or anyone for that matter at

all. He felt a small twinge of sadness, until the relieving voice of Draco broke the silence.

"You came."

"Of course I came. I said I would, didn't I?" Harry beamed, seeing the pointed outline of Draco's face.

"Yeah. So... what now?"

"What do you want to talk about?" Draco shrugged.

"I just wanted to be able to talk freely to you."

"You seemed fidgety earlier in Potions." Harry brought up the subject as best he could without accidentally hurting Draco.

"Oh. Right." Pause. "You know I didn't mean-"

"Relax! We can't look like we're friends in public, I get it. No apology needed." Harry smiled at Draco, whom sighed in relief.

"Okay. Thanks."

The night went on as Harry and Draco kept each other company, and soon they ran out of ideas and started quizzing each other.

"Favourite colour?"

"Red."

"Same. Gryffindor colours?"

"You know it. Why do you like red?"

"No idea."

"Favourite food?" Harry started the next question.

"This might sound weird but... Tomato soup."

"Really? Why?"

"House elves used to make it when I was sick, guess I got used to the taste."

"Neat, I like Treacle Tarts." Harry chuckled and shrugged.

"Have you tried the Chocolate Frog Cheesecake? I love it!"

"Maybe sweet tooth's run in everyone's family, then." Harry laughed. Draco laughed too, the mixed sounds filling the room. Their laughter slowly died

down, and Draco took on a forlorn look.

"I wish it could always be like this."

"Yeah. Wouldn't it be easier to just go out and talk on the grass?"

"'Course it would. But people like us tend to like the hard way better."

"Heh, no kidding. We could try and see if subtly being kinder to each other would be noticed... Maybe just talk without having to be rude."

"Keep dreaming, Harry, we're 'enemies for life' or something like that. We'll never be accepted as friends."

"Not even acquaintances?" Harry rested his head on his hand, leaning his elbow on his knee.

"Doubt it."

Then an odd thought crossed Harry's mind, it was confusing at first, but as he thought more about it the more hot his face became.

"Are you all right?" Draco asked, concerned.

"Fine. Just a really strange thought."

"Well, what was it? Spill the beans." Draco repositioned himself so he sat cross legged.

"Er- I'd rather not-"

"It's just us here. And it's not like I'm going to tell anyone. I - I actually care about your feelings, if you haven't noticed." Draco averted his eyes for a

second.

"Well, I just thought that maybe... What if we weren't just friends..? I - I dunno it's really stupid. Forget I said anything."

Draco smiled.

"It's not a bad idea. It's just a little more peculiar than most. I kind of like it, anyway."

"So you...?"

"Yeah. Weird, right? Turns out being in someone's head for a few days really turns your perspective around. Sorry for being such a jerk in earlier years."

"The past doesn't matter anymo-"

"What do you mean it doesn't matter?!" Draco rose from his seat, suddenly enraged. "After all the things I did! What I've said to you! To Ron and

Hermione!"

"Is all behind us. It's okay to start new, you know." Harry surprised himself, and apparently Draco as well that he was so calm.

"But-"

"It doesn't matter."

"I was so-"

"Shut up! Just drop it, okay? I've done some rotten things to you and you don't see me blubbering about it!"

Draco went silent, and nodded.

"I'll just go, then."

"Wait." Harry stood, blocking Draco's way out.

"What?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I... I don't know, honestly." Harry half laughed. "Maybe your feelings have started to spread into me. That sounds cheesy, doesn't it?"

Draco smirked.

"Not as much as this." Then he leaned in and pressed his lips to Harry's. A warm fire danced in Harry's heart, soul, and the pit of his stomach. He felt

slightly nauseous, in a good way, and his very being throbbed in delight.

They broke apart, leaving Harry to still feel bouncy on the inside.

"I'll see you later. Maybe tomorrow?"

"I'd love to, but there's a DA meeting. The day after is perfect though." Harry responded, feeling slightly dazed, tracing his fingers over his lips.

"Sounds good. Bye, Harry." And he left soundlessly. With Harry still trying to comprehend what happened, he trekked back to Gryffindor Tower and into his

bed still thinking the same thing over and over.

Do I love him? No, what would everyone think? But we could make it work... No, that's impossible... These thoughts were the very things that kept Harry awake

the rest of the night, sleeping barely a wink. He woke the next day still thinking to himself, all the while preparing the next DA lesson.

* * *

Harry felt like time moved faster that day. Faster than it should. His classes breezed by, supper only took a second, and before he knew it he was going

over spells with the usual group. Things were going well, until a loud bang was heard.****_Bang. _There it was again. The entire room had gone quiet. Then, with

the force if a hurricane, the wall blew apart, revealing Umbridge who was accompanied by Marietta Edgecomb, along with Crabbe and Goyle, and... Draco. A

boiling pot of anger threatened to spill over inside of Harry. Did Draco blurt out his secret? After what happened the previous night?! Looking into Draco's eyes,

Harry saw no emotion whatsoever. No hurt, nothing even hinting to an 'I'm sorry'. Had he been betrayed?


End file.
